BlitzMacalma.blogspot.com

The XBOX 360 Slim JTAG aka RGH

2012-01-30T20:48:00.011+08:00

Hi Everyone,

I've recently found out that a JTAG for the XBOX Slim is now possible.

What is JTAG? it's a form of Modification done with your XBOX that enables you to write 'un-official' / non-microsoft programs in your XBOX. Such as LINUX OS, etc. Since you own the XBOX you have the right to do whatever you want with it to maximize its potential. (do more things other than playing XBOX Games).

But first of all, to avoid the confusion, the term "JTAG" is not applicable to the XBOX 360 SLIM. Which is why in most forums/websites, they will tell you, "NO you CANNOT JTAG the SLIM", that is because the procedure in JTAGging the XBOX Slim is different from the original JTAG procedure.

The correct term for the XBOX SLIM is RGH (RESET GLITCH HACK) this is the new procedure in letting un-official programs to run in your XBOX Slim. So from here onwards I will be using the term RGH and not JTAG.

Now what do you need in order to RGH your XBOX 360 Slim?

First and most important is the CoolRunner Circuit Board... (cost P1,000-P1,500 online)
available here: http://www.xconsoles.com/products/Xecuter-CoolRunner-RevB.html

Para saan ito?
This is the Board that will make the RGH work. Google about the details how it works, I wont explain it here to shorten the blog post. Basically this card simulates the "booting" of your XBOX, but does slight modifications to let non-microsoft programs to run during initialization.

Second is an optional component but highly recommended Quick Solder Board.. (cost P250-500)
available here: http://www.xconsoles.com/products/Xecuter-NAND%252dX-%26-CoolRunner-Slim-QSB-Install-Kit.html

Para saan naman ito?
This board makes it easier for the technician to "SOLDER" in tagalog, pag "hinang" ng wires to your XBOX's motherboard. Hence its name QSB(Quick 'Solder' Board) It also makes the board less cluttered and ensures the wires are precisely connected to the required nodes.

When both components are installed they will look like this on your board..
http://www.xconsoles.com/productimage.php?product_id=161&current_image=1#

Now that you know how much the "COMPONENTS" cost, wag kayo mag reklamo na MAHAL! I have asked some shops in Greenhills, they are offering RGH service from P2,500 (BestBuy) to P6,000 (EYO). Obviously the shop offering the 6,000 price sounds outrageous. Both shops are in VirraMall.

It's not a simple task to install these boards, but the 4,000 installation fee is too much. The 2,500 price in BESTBUY sounds reasonable. But I am still to confirm with them what components are they using, (if they're using COOLRUNNER revB).

Moving on to the "FUN" part, ano ba benefits ng RGH'd na XBOX SLIM?

You can now BACK-UP your games and install them to your 'external' hardisk (note: external, meaning you're not required to use an XBOX Hardisk Drive)

EMULATORS: You can also play back ups of your SNES, GBA, and PlayStation 1 games on your XBOX! miss mo na ba Super Mario World or Final Fantasy 7? :)

On-Line gaming, via XLINK-Kai.

and Many More! Just google for "Benefits of JTAG" ;)

For more sample videos you can go to youtube and search for FreeStyle Dash, XEXmenu, Freestyle Dash Emulator, JTAG GameOnDemand.

You may also visit XBOX Iso forum for more information!

http://www.xbox360iso.com/jtag-tutorials-f130.html

Thanks for munching by!

SAP BW / BI Self-help Review Notes

2011-06-14T18:08:00.012+08:00

SAP BW OVERVIEW

SAP’s BW Information Model: Overview

SAP’s BW information model is based on the core building block of InfoObjects which are used to describe business processes and information requirements. They provide basis for setting up complex information models in multiple languages, currencies, units of measure, hierarchy, etc. The key elements in the SAP’s BW information model are:

* DataSources
* InfoSources
* ODS Objects
* InfoCubes
* InfoProviders
* MultiProviders

DataSources are flat data structures containing data that logically belongs together. They are responsible for extracting and staging data from various source systems.

InfoSources are the group of InfoObjects that belong together from a business point of view. It contains the transactional data obtained from the transactions in online transactional processes (OLTP) and master data such as addresses of customers and organizations, which remain unchanged for longer time period.

An ODS object is a dataset which is formed as a result of merging data from one or more info sources. In it information is stored in the form of flat, transparent database tables that are used for preparing reports and quality assurance purposes.

InfoCubes are multidimensional data storage containers for reporting and analysis of data. They consist of keys figures and characteristics of which latter is organized as dimensions facilitating users to analyze data from various business perspectives such as geographical area or types of sales channel.

InfoProviders refer to all the data objects that are present in the SAP BW systems. These include all the data targets viz. InfoCubes, ODS objects and master data tables along with Info sets, remote Infocubes and MultiProviders.

MultiProvider is a virtual information provider which is a combination of any two physical or virtual info providers. MultiProviders do not contain any data and are used to combine data from different info providers. Their main purpose is to make this data accessible for reports and analysis.

SAP BW Architecture

Building SAP BW into multi-tier architecture model in Business Services

SAP BW is based on integrated metadata concept with metadata being managed by metadata services. SAP’s BW has following layers:

* Extraction, Loading and Transformation (ELT) services layer.
* Storage services layer, with services for storing and archiving information.
* Analysis and access services layer, which provides access to the information stored in SAP BW.
* Presentation services layer, which offers different options for presenting information to end users.
* Administration services.
* Metadata services.

BI 7’s New Features

· New Transformation Rules - You heard that right, ladies and gentlemen, no more deciding whether this routine should be in update rules or transfer rules, now you can lump all those into one transformation rules which combine the best of both worlds. With the new 'end routine' and 'expert routine' features, you can further customize how data transformation is done.

End Routine
An end routine is a routine with a table in the target structure format as input and output parameters. You can use an end routine to postprocess data after transformation on a package-by-package basis. For example, you can delete records that are not to be updated, or perform data checks. If the target of the transformation is a DataStore object, key figures are updated by default with the aggregation behavior Overwrite (MOVE). You have to use a dummy rule to override this. Example: End Routine
Expert Routine
This type of routine is only intended for use in special cases. You can use the expert routine if there are not sufficient functions to perform a transformation. The expert routine should be used as an interim solution until the necessary functions are available in the standard routine. You can use this to program the transformation yourself without using the available rule types. You must implement the message transfer to the monitor yourself. If you have already created transformation rules, the system deletes them once you have created an expert routine.

· New DTP (Data Transfer Process Layer) - This is an additional layer on top of the 'normal' infopackage. So now, infopackage will move data to PSA level only. You will then use this DTP thingy, to move the data further to BW data targets, like infocube, ODS (they called this DSO now) or to infoobject. This is good in that you can debug more, but it will add additional layer especially for loading master data or text, which is in my opinion works better with the 'direct update' thingy in the previous version. But maybe SAP direction is in 'standardization', so no more differentiation between Flexible Update Rules or Direct Update I guess.

· New Remodelling Tool - So far I haven't used this yet, but they say, you can easily modify an existing infocube structure (with data in it) using this tool. Whether it will affect the data integrity of the infocube is another question.

*Well there are many other features, or improvement you can found in SAP BI 7, but these are the major ones so far. And also, the BEx Query Designer and Analyzer is also different, but then Business Object is already in the picture, so expect this to be changed in the near future too.

Review Questions & Information

Dimensional Modeling - Fact Table

In data warehousing, a fact table consists of the measurements or facts of a business event. It is often located at the centre of a star schema or a snowflake schema, surrounded by dimension tables. A fact table is the primary table in a dimensional model where the performance measurements of the events are stored.

One fact table = One business process = One single data mart

Fact tables express the many-to-many relationships between dimension in dimensional model.

* Facts are determined by answering the question : “What are we measuring ?”

Dimensional Modeling - Hierarchy

A hierarchy is a set of levels having many-to-one relationships between each other, and the set of levels collectively makes up a dimension.

In a relational database, the different levels of a hierarchy can be stored in a single table (as in a star schema) or in separate tables (as in a snowflake schema).

Each of the elements of a dimension could be summarized using a hierarchy. The hierarchy is a series of parent-child relationships, typically where a parent member represents the consolidation of the members which are its children. Parent members can be further aggregated as the children of another parent.

in Product Dimension, Individual unit roll up to brands. Brands roll up to categories, and categories roll up to departments.
in the time dimension : Fiscal Hierarchy: Fiscal Year > Fiscal Quarter > Fiscal Month > Fiscal Week > Day
in the region dimension : cities > regions > countries > global regions

What’s line item dimension?

This means the dimension contains precisely one characteristic. This means that the system does not create a dimension table. Instead, the SID table of the characteristic takes on the role of dimension table.

What’s Database index?

is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of slower writes and increased storage space. Indexes can be created using one or more columns of a database table, providing the basis for both rapid random lookups and efficient access of ordered records. The disk space required to store the index is typically less than that required by the table (since indices usually contain only the key-fields according to which the table is to be arranged, and exclude all the other details in the table), yielding the possibility to store indices in memory for a table whose data is too large to store in memory.

How can you decide the query performance is slow or fast ?
You can check that in RSRT tcode.
execute the query in RSRT and after that follow the below steps
Goto SE16 and in the resulting screen give table name as RSDDSTAT for BW 3.x and RSDDSTAT_DM for BI 7.0 and press enteryou can view all the details about the query like time taken to execute the query and the timestmaps

How can you solve the data mismatch tickets between r/3 and bw?

Check the mapping at BW side for the Characteristic’s (ie 0STREET ) transfer rules. Check the data in PSA for the same field.If the PSA is also doesn't have complete data then check the field in RSA3 in source system.

Define attribute Change run.
Generally attribute change run is used when there is any change in the master data..it is used for realingment of the master data..Attribute change run is nothing but adjusting the master data after its been loaded from time to time so that it can change or generate or adjust the sid's so that u may not have any problem when loading the trasaction data in to data targets.the detail explanation about Attribute change run.The hierarchy/attribute change run which activates hierarchy and attribute changes and adjusts the corresponding aggregates is devided, into 4 phases:1. Finding all affected aggregates2. set up all affected aggregates again and write the result in the new aggregate table.3. Activating attributes and hierarchies4. rename the new aggregate table. When renaming, it is not possible to execute queries. In some databases, which cannot rename the indexes, the indexes are also created in this phase.

Important: What are the types of attributes?
Display only and navigational: display only attributes are only for display and no analysis can be done; navigational attributes behave like regular characteristics; for example assume that we have a customer characteristics with country as a navigational attribute; you can analyze the data using customer and country.

What is the difference between filter & Restricted Key Figures? Examples & Steps in BI?
Filter restriction applies to entire query. RKF is restriction applied on a keyfigure. Suppose for example, you want to analyze data only after 2006...showing sales in 2007,2008 against Materials..You have got a keyfigure called Sales in your cube. Now you will put global restriction at query level by putting Fiscyear > 2006 in the Filter. This will make only data which have fiscyear >2006 available for query to process or show.
Now to meet your requirement. ..like below Material Sales in 2007 Sales in 2008M1 200 300M2 400 700You need to create two RKF's.Sales in 2007 is one RKF which is defined on keyfigure Sales restricted by Fiscyear = 2007Similarly,Sales in 2008 is one RKF which is defined on Keyfigure Sales restricted by Fiscyear = 2008Now i think u understood the difference Filter will make the restriction on query level..Like in above case putting filter Fiscyear>2006 willmake data from cube for yeaers 2001,2002,2003, 2004,2005 ,2006 unavailable to the query for showing up. So query is only left with data to be shown from 2007 and 2008. Within that data.....you can design your RKF to show only 2007 or something like that...

Source: http://indelasap.blogspot.com/2009/04/sap-bw-interview-questions-with-ibmhp.html

What is table partition?
A: SAP is using fact table partitioning to improve the performance. you can partition only on 0CALMONTH or 0FISCPER (fiscal period)

What is Open Hub Service?
• The Open Hub Service enables us to distribute data from an SAP BW system into external Data Marts, analytical applications, and other applications. We can ensure controlled distribution using several systems. The central object for exporting data is the InfoSpoke. We can define the source and the target object for the data. BW becomes a hub of an enterprise data warehouse. The distribution of data becomes clear through central monitoring from the distribution status in the BW system.

What are BW Statistics and what is its use?
• They are group of Business Content InfoCubes which are used to measure performance for Query and Load Monitoring. It also shows the usage of aggregates, OLAP and Warehouse management.

What are the steps to extract data from R/3?

• Replicate DataSources
• Assign InfoSources
• Maintain Communication Structure and Transfer rules
• Create an InfoPackage
• Load Data

What are the steps involved in LO Extraction?

o RSA5 Select the DataSources
o LBWE Maintain DataSources and Activate Extract Structures
o LBWG Delete Setup Tables
o 0LI*BW Setup tables
o RSA3 Check extraction and the data in Setup tables
o LBWQ Check the extraction queue
o LBWF Log for LO Extract Structures
o RSA7 BW Delta Queue Monitor

What is the difference between ODS and InfoCube and MultiProvider?

• ODS: Provides granular data, allows overwrite and data is in transparent tables, ideal for drilldown and RRI.
• CUBE: Follows the star schema, we can only append data, ideal for primary reporting.
• MultiProvider: Does not have physical data. It allows to access data from different InfoProviders (Cube, ODS, InfoObject). It is also preferred for reporting.

What are Start routines, Transfer routines and Update routines?

• Start Routines: The start routine is run for each DataPackage after the data has been written to the PSA and before the transfer rules have been executed. It allows complex computations for a key figure or a characteristic. It has no return value. Its purpose is to execute preliminary calculations and to store them in global DataStructures. This structure or table can be accessed in the other routines. The entire DataPackage in the transfer structure format is used as a parameter for the routine.
• Transfer / Update Routines: They are defined at the InfoObject level. It is like the Start Routine. It is independent of the DataSource. We can use this to define Global Data and Global Checks.

What is the difference between start routine and update routine, when, how and why are they called?

• Start routine can be used to access InfoPackage while update routines are used while updating the Data Targets.

What is Star Schema? In Star Schema model, Fact table is surrounded by dimensional tables. Fact table is usually very large, that means it contains millions to billions of records. On the other hand dimensional tables are very small. Hence they contain a few thousands to few million records. In practice, Fact table holds transactional data and dimensional table holds master data. The dimensional tables are specific to a fact table. This means that dimensional tables are not shared to across other fact tables. When other fact table such as a product needs the same product dimension data another dimension table that is specific to a new fact table is needed. This situation creates data management problems such as master data redundancy because the very same product is duplicated in several dimensional tables instead of sharing from one single master data table. This problem is solved in extended star schema/snowflake schema.

What is slowly changing dimension? Dimensions those changes with time are called slowly changing dimension. (ie: Employee name when employee gets married? Or Customer Address when moving to diff location)

What is fact table? Fact table is the collection if facts and relations that means foreign keys with the dimension. Actually fact table holds transactional data.

What is dimension table? Dimension table is a collection of logically related descriptive attributes that means characteristics.

How many tables does info cube contain?

Actually info cube contains two tables’ E table and F (fact) table.

What is the maximum no. of dimensions in info cube?

16(3 are sap defines and 13 are customer defined)

What are the minimum no of dimensions in info cube?

4(3 Sap defined and 1 customer defined).

What are the 3SAP defined dimensions?

The 3 SAP defined dimensions are…..
1. Data packet dimension (P)…..it contains 3characteristics.a) request Id (b) Record type (c) Change run id
2. Time dimension (T)….it contains time characteristics such as 0calmonth, 0calday etc
3. Unit Dimension (U)…it contains basically amount and quantity related units.

What is the maximum no. of key figures?

233

What is the maximum no. of characteristics?

248

What are the data types for the characteristic info object?

1. CHAR, 2. NUMC, 3. DATE, 4. TIME

Usual date format in BW?

YYYYMMDD

Src: http://sapbrainsonline.com/Emerging_Tech/sap-bw-interview-questions.html

Difference between 'F' fact table & an 'E' Fact table?

A cube has 2 fact tables - E and F. When the requests in the cube are not compressed the data exists in the F fact table and when the requests are compressed the data lies in the E fact table.

When the requests are compressed all the request ids are lost (set to NULL) and you would not be able to select/delete the data by request id. The data in the E fact table is compressed and occupies lesser space than F fact table. When you load a data target, say a cube, the data is stored in the F fact table. If the cube is compressed, the data in the F fact table is transferred to the E fact table.

Bex access the records from F-table or E- Table of InfoCube?

Bex access both F and E fact tables. If data exists in both tables, it picks from both.

If the cube is not compressed it takes from F table, if fully compressed it takes from E table, partial compression - both F and E.

When we do roll-up in InfoCube maintenance, records are moved to aggregates? or moved from F table to E table?

Roll-up adds the copy of records from F or E table to the aggregate tables. The records are not moved from F or E.

src: http://www.sap-img.com/business/e-table-vs-f-table.htm

Types of Delta:

Serialized V3 Update This is the conventional update method in which the document data is collected in the sequence of attachment and transferred to BW by batch job.The sequence of the transfer does not always match the sequence in which the data was created.

Direct delta. When a Document is posted it first saved to the application table and also directly saved to the RSA7 (delta queue) from here it is being moved to BW. So you can understand that for Delta flow in R/3 Delta queue is the exit point.

Queued Delta When a document is posted it is saved to application table, and also saved to the Extraction Queue ( here is the different to direct delta) and you have to schedule a V3 job to move the data to the delta queue periodically and from their it is moved to BW.

Unserialized V3 Update This method is largely identical to the serialized V3 update. The difference lies in the fact that the sequence of document data in the BW delta queue does not have to agree with the posting sequence. It is recommended only when the sequence that data is transferred into BW does not matter (due to the design of the data targets in BW).

You can use it for Inventory Management, because once a Material Document is created, it is not edited. The sequence of records matters when a document can be edited multiple times. But again, if you are using an ODS in your inventory design, you should switch to the serialized V3 update.

SRC: http://www.sap-img.com/business/types-of-update-methods.htm

ODS vs INFOCUBE

ODS store data at a more granular level. they have flat structures like a table in R/3. They have a unique feature "overwrite" which is absent in case of cubes.

You can use ODS to load to cube further.

One major difference is the manner of data storage. In ODS, data is stored in flat tables. By flat we mean to say ordinary transparent table whereas in a CUBE, it composed of multiple tables arranged in a STAR SCHEMA joined by SIDs. The purpose is to do MULTI-DIMENSIONAL Reporting.

Another difference is : In ODS, you can update an existing record given the KEY. In CUBES, theres no such thing. It will accept duplicate records and during reporting, SUM the keyfigures up. Theres no EDIT previous record contents just ADD. With ODS, the procedure is UPDATE IF EXISTING (base from the Table Key) otherwise ADD RECORD.

What is the significance of ODS in BW?

An ODS Object serves to store consolidated and debugged transaction data on a document level (atomic level). It describes a consolidated dataset from one or more InfoSources. This dataset can be analyzed with a BEx Query or InfoSet Query. The data of an ODS Object can be updated with a delta update into InfoCubes and/or other ODS Objects in the same system or across systems. In contrast to multi-dimensional data storage with InfoCubes, the data in ODS Objects is stored in transparent, flat database tables.

SRC: http://www.sap-basis-abap.com/bw/difference-between-info-cube-and-ods.htm

Define Meta data, Master data and Transaction data

a. Meta Data: Data that describes the structure of data or MetaObjects is called Metadata. In other words data about data is known as Meta Data.

b. Master Data: Master data is data that remains unchanged over a long period of time. It contains information that is always needed in the same way. Characteristics can bear master data in BW.

With master data you are dealing with attributes, texts or hierarchies.

c. Transaction data: Data relating to the day-to-day transactions is the Transaction data.

What are variables? - Variables are parameters of a query that are set in the parameter query definition and are not filled with values until the queries are inserted into workbooks. There are different types of variables which are used in different application: Characteristics variables, Hierarchies and hierarchy node, Texts, Formulas, Processing types, User entry/Default type, Replacment Path.

What is AWB?. What is its purpose? - AWB stands for Administrator WorkBench. AWB is a tool for controlling, monitoring and maintaining all the processes connected with data staging and processing in the business information whearhousing.

SRC: http://gleez.com/articles/job-skills/interview/sap-interview-questions

What is a slowly changing dimension?
A dimension containing a characteristics which changes over a time; for example take employee job title; this changes over a period of time with different job titles

What is the namespace/naming convention in BW?

All SAP objects start with ZERO (ie: 0GL_ACCOUNT)

Customer/User Created objects start with A-Z (ie: ZBLITZMNYR, ZFavoriteEmployee, ZEmployeeLuckyNumber)

Table names begin with /BIO for SAP and /BIC for customers

Generated objects start with 1-8 (like export data source); prefix 9A is used in APO.

What is an info object?
Business object like customer, product, etc; they are divided into characteristics and key figures; characteristics are evaluation objects like customer and key figures are measurable objects like sales quantity, etc; characteristics also include special objects like unit and time.

What are the data types allowed for key figures? (answers the “how much/how many scenario”)

Amount, number, integer, date and time.

What is the difference between amount/quantity and number ?

amount/quantity “always comes with units”; for example sales will be amount and inventory quantity.

SRC http://gleez.com/articles/career-job-skills/interview/sap-interview-questions

What are the nine decision points of data warehousing?
a. Identify fact table
b. Identify dimension tables
c. Define attributes of entities
d. Define granularity of the fact table (how often
e. Pre calculated key figures
f. Slowly changing dimensions
g. Aggregates
h. How long data will be kept
i. How often data is extracted

What is a SID table and advantages = The SID table (Surrogate ID table) is the interface between master data and the dimension tables; advantages :
a. uses numeric as indexes for faster access
b. master data independent of info cubes
c. language support
d. slowly changing dimension support

Tables created for master data?
a. P table - Time independent master data attributes
b. Q table - Time dependent master data attributes
c. M view - Combines P and Q
d. X table - Interface between master data SIDs and time independent navigational attributes SIDs (P is linked to the X table)
e. Y table - Interface between master data SIDs and time dependent navigational attributes SIDs (Q is linked to the Y table)

What is the transfer routine of the info object?
It is like a start routine; this is independent of the data source and valid for all transfer routines; you can use this to define global data and global checks.

What is the DIM ID?
Dim ids link dimensions to the fact table

What is table partition?
SAP is using fact table partitioning to improve performance; you can partition only on OCALMONTH or OFISCPER;

How many extra partitions are created and why?
Usually 2 extra partitions are created to accommodate data before the begin date and after the end date

Can you partition a cube which has data already?
No; the cube must be empty to do this; one work around is to make a copy of the cube A to cube B; export data from A to B using export data source; empty cube A; create partition on A; re-import data from B; delete cube B

What is the transaction for Administrator work bench?
RSA1

What is a source system?
Any system that is sending data to BW like R/3, flat file, oracle database or external systems.

What is a data source?
The source which is sending data to a particular info source on BW; for example we have a OCUSTOMER_ATTR data source to supply attributes to OCUSTOMER from R/3

What is an info source?
Group of logically related objects; for example the OCUSTOMER info source will contain data related to customer and attributes like customer number, address, phone no, etc

What is communication structure?
Is an independent structure created from info source; it is independent of the source system/data source

What are transfer rules?
The transformation rules for data from source system to info source/communication structure

What is global transfer rule?
This is a transfer routine (ABAP) defined at the info object level; this is common for all source systems.

Options available in the “transfer rule” - Assign info object, assign a constant, ABAP routine or a Formula (From version 3.x);

a. Assign info object - direct transfer; no transformation
b. Constant - for example if you are loading data from a specified country in a flat file, you can make the country as constant and assign the value
c. ABAP routine - for example if you want to do some complex string manipulation; assume that you are getting a flag file from legacy data and the cost center is in a field and you have to "message" the data to get it; in this case use ABAP code
d. For simple calculations use formula; for example you want to convert all lower case characters to upper case; use the TOUPPER formula

Some important ABAP formula available
Concatenate, sub string, condense, left/right (n characters),1_trim, r_trim, replace, date routines like DATECONV, date-week, add_to_date, date_diff, logical functions like if, and;

When you do the ABAP code for transfer rule, what are the important variables you use?
a. RESULT - this gets the result of the ABAP code
b. RETURNCODE - you set this to 0 if everything is OK; else this record is skipped
c. ABORT - set this to a different value from 0, to abort the entire package

What is the process of replication?
This copies data source structures from R/3 to BW

What is the update rule?
Update rule defines the transformation of data from the communication structure to the data targets; this is independent of the source systems/data sources

What are the options in update rules?
a. one to one move of info objects
b. constant
c. lookup for master data attributes
d. formula
e. routine (ABAP)
f. initial value

What is the time distribution option in update rule?
This is to distribute data according to time; for example if the source contains calendar week and the target contains calendar day, the data is split for each calendar day. Here you can select either the normal calendar or the factory calendar.

How would you optimize the dimensions?
Use as many dimensions as possible for performance improvement; for example assume that you have 100 products and 200 customers;

if you make one dimension to carry both characteristics, the size of the dimension will be 20,000;

if you make two dimensions (1 for each) then the total number of rows will be 300 (Prods Dim = 100 + Customers Dim = 200).

Even if you put more than one characteristic per dimension, do the math considering worst case scenario and decide which characteristics may be combined in a dimension.

http://gleez.com/sap-bw/sap-bw-interview-questions/sap-interview-questions-part-2

## Characteristics and Keyfigures ## - http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/BI/Characteristic+and+Key+Figures

Characteristics are Descriptive attributes used to describe the entities such as Customers, Vendor, Materials, Plants etc. These represent who, what, when, where scenario.

Example --> Customer Name, Address, Phone number, age, Color etc.

Key Figures are operational attributes, which indicates numerical measures such as amount related, Weight related, quantity related, etc. These represent how much and how many scenario.

Example --> Sold quantity, Rejected Quantity, Stock Sales, etc.

## LO Cockpit (functions of LO-COCKPIT) ## - http://info-cube.blogspot.com/2008/07/lo-cockpit-extraction.html

Maintain Extract Strucutres: Here you can add additional fields from the communication structures available to the extract structure.

Maintain Data Sources: In the Data source maintenance screen, you can customize the data source by using the following fields: field name, short text, selection, hide field, inversion or cancellation field or reverse posting, and field only known in customer exit.

Activating update: By Setting as active, data is written into extract structures both online as well as during completion of setup tables or restructure table or LO initialization tables.

Depending on the update mode a job has to be scheduled with which the updated data is transferred in the background into the central delta management (Delta Queue).

Controlling update:This talks about the delta update mode you are using and how do you control the data load based on the volume of data. LO Cockpit supports 4 types of update modes ( delta modes, which we have already discussed): Serialized V3 update,Direct Delta,Queued Delta,Unserialized V3 update.

## Customer hierarchy ## is an organizational unit that you can use to group otherwise unrelated customers together for the purpose of pricing or reporting.

This is useful when multiple sold to accounts must receive the same pricing or rebates. http://hoopsdoc.hillyard.com/new/customermaintenance/customerhierarchy/

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BI 3.X ONLY Terms
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SAP BW Communication Structure and Transfer Structure
When I first started dabbling with SAP BW, one of the questions that boggles my mind is "What's the difference between a Communication Structure (short: Comm Structure) and Transfer Structure?".
Well, transfer structure is like the data template of the source system. What it means is that, this transfer structure is exactly like the fields of the originating data. So, if you have a flat files with the fields: Cost Center, Business Area, Sales Amount, the transfer would be exactly like that. Also, in the transfer structure, you can have some conversion routine to convert for example, the date format of the originating data. Things like that.

But what about the communication structure? Why do we need it? Well, the answer to that my friend, is that, from the transfer structure, using a certain "transfer rules", we map the fields in the transfer structure to the communication structure. This communication structure is data-source independent, and this is what the "infocube" or the data targets would see. Not the transfer structure. Why is this good? Say, when extracting from legacy system, you still don't have in mind which fields you want to transfer and all. So, what you did is you transfer everything, which means that your transfer structure would be quite humongous. But, for now, you knew, you only need a few fields for reporting purposes.
So, in the communication structure, you will only select the "infoobjects" that you need, not all the fields in the transfer structure. In a way it acts as a filter for the transfer structure.

Transfer Rule
copies/transfers data from Source System(Flatfile/Oracle/Tables) to Target infoObjects in BW (ODS/DSO)

Update Rule
How Information is updated in Target Objects (ie: Addition, via formula, or ABAP routine)

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Sales and Distribution (R/3 Side)

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SD Process Flow - Sales and Distribution overview

1. Inquiry (VA11)

2. Quotation / Contracts / Scheduling Agreements (VA21)

3. Sales Order (VA01)

4. Delivery

a) Create Delivery (VL01N)

b) Picking (LT03)

c) Picking Confirmation (LT12)

d) Packing (Optional in VL02N)

e) Post Goods issue (VL02N)

5. Billing(=Invoice) (VF01)

6. Post Incoming Payment (F-28)

Common Scenarios:

Customer is buying …

sales order – Transaction VA01 – Tables VBAK, VBAP, VBEP, VBKD, VBPA, VBUK, VBUP.

Delivery – Transaction VL01N – Tables LIKP, LIPS, VBUK, VBUP.

Goods issue – Transaction VL02N – Tables MKPF, MSEG

Billing document – Transaction VF01 – Tables VBRK, VBRP.

Customer is returning…

Return order – Transaction VA01 – Tables VBAK, VBAP, VBEP, VBKD, VBPA, VBUK, VBUP.

Returns delivery – Transaction VL01N – Tables LIKP, LIPS, VBUK, VBUP.

Goods Receipt – Transaction VL02N – Tables MKPF, MSEG

Credit memo – Transaction VF01 – Tables VBRK, VBRP.

Customer wants some money back.

Credit memo request – Transaction VA01 – Tables VBAK, VBAP, VBEP, VBKD, VBPA, VBUK, VBUP.

Credit memo – Transaction VF01 – Tables VBRK, VBRP.

Customer was charged less money ..Meaning we want some money back from customer..

Debit memo request – Transaction VA01 – Tables VBAK, VBAP, VBEP, VBKD, VBPA, VBUK, VBUP.

Debit memo – Transaction VF01 – Tables VBRK, VBRP.

Source: http://www.sapgeek.net/2009/09/sd-process-flow-and-tables/

More In-Depth SD Presentation = http://www.scribd.com/doc/2573000/SAP-SD-OVERVIEW

Good Luck on your interview ;)

thanks for munching by foodies!

RPG (Metanoia) - First Pinoy 3D Animated Movie!

2010-12-31T13:43:00.017+08:00

After 10 years of ditching MMFF (metro manila film fest) movies, I finally gave the pinoy movie industry a chance.

Don't get me wrong, okay naman ang pinoy films, most feedbacks that i get are "uy napanood mo na yung ***, nakakatawa!", "nakakatawa sila ganito at ganun!" and "haha tuwang tuwa ako", yes The Usual Enteng Kabisote and Tanging Ina movies, COMEDY! and worst, may DRAMA pa minsan! christ! Yan ang palabas sa LOCAL TV araw araw!

I don't have any problem with supporting our own, ika nga "Pinoy Made" but compare the production of our movies to other countries, they spend YEARS in producing a movie, from making a script, storyboard, actual shooting and editing!

But here in the Philippines? uy Film Fest na sa December, may movie entry kayo? Yes meron, actually nag start na kami mag shoot last September! haha tatlong buwan.. diyos ko pong mahabagin... parang gumagawa lang ng teleserye!

The movie RPG Metanoia is action packed, from START to FINISH. It opens up with the story's main protagonist "Nico" who at that time is inside the world of an Online Game; METANOIA, fighting this three headed crossbreed between a hydra and a nutcracker (Hirap ba imagine?) Panoorin mo nalang kasi.

Well of course he defeats the monster and gets this special item which is supposed to give him "God Like" powers within the game... which ends up endangering everyone in the planet, not just online but also in Real Life.

There are moments in the film where some might actually think, "wow! another foreign movie that's Pinoy Dubbed?" palibhasa lahat nalang sa TV tinatagalog! Kahit DORA the explorer tagalog na, tapos mag rereklamo kayo ANG HIRAP MAG ENGLISH! Your top 100% free source of learning and familiarizing yourself to ENGLISH, tinagalog pa! But what can we do, in order to earn big, TV Networks have to target "The MASSES / General Public / known locally as ang MASA", and sad to say, hirap mag ingles/english "ang MASA" at hindi sila manonood ng hirap sila intindihin (unless Koreano mga iyan! oo sawa na tayo sa Marimar and the likes, Korea-novelas naman).

Yes, the movie looks good! and those who are not familiar with well known 3D animations might actually think it was made abroad and was just dubbed for Pinoy Viewers.

Just a quick fact, it took "5 years" to make this movie.

If you've experienced Playing Online Games (online games ha! hindi farmville at plants vs zombies! buset!) and loves to watch Pixar and Dreamworks films, this movie is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Also to Parents whose kids are playing computer games round the clock, this movie has a GREAT LESSON in store for your kiddos!

Calling out to those former and still active RAGNAROK ONLINE Players! I'm sure you guys will be able to relate to this movie and appreciate it, actually by this time baka napanood nyo na!

Sound quality is also great! HINDI MONO!!! its in Stereo!!! HALLELUJAH! When a character speaks and goes to the right side of the screen or even off camera, the sound

moves as well from left to right! MARVELOUS! hahaha kaya at possible naman pala eh! Pambihira bakit ngayon lang!!!

The only negative feedback that I can probably give is with the voice acting, they could've acquired better voice actors, but then again, if you're already satisfied with the voice acting of our pinoy dubbed animes, then you won't have any problems. I just got used to watching Animes (in japanese) with english subtitles, that's why I can't help but compare the feeble voice acting quality here against those awesome voice actors in japan.

Support pinoy 3D Animation and watch this movie! We may not be as good as Pixar or Dreamworks but WE DEFINITELY HAVE A CHANCE and WILL SURELY GET THERE! You'll realize this after you see this movie!

For the first time in my life, I'm BUYING AN ORIGINAL DVD! And it will be a DVD of this PINOY MOVIE, "RPG: METANOIA".

Where pinoys broke the barrier between Local and World Class 3D Animation. The very first 100% PINOY made full length 3D ANIMATION Movie, and mind you, it DOESN'T SUCK!!! Definitely WORTH BUYING!

If you have the extra cash, show your support and get the DVD! This will surely be a collector's item as time goes by. ;)

Good Job ABS-CBN STAR CINEMA and AMBIENT MEDIA for producing a QUALITY movie!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
Another superb year has passed, onwards to another great year with Better things in life to come! =)

Pictures Copyright by ABS-CBN STAR CINEMA.

aPad vs FAKE ePad, MID, iRobot (rockchip vs ATI flytouch), don't be fooled.

2010-12-26T17:21:00.039+08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

SUMMARY: For sure you've already seen those China Tablets (APADs, EPAD, MIDs, iROBOT) selling for only 3,000 to 6,000 pesos, don't be fooled when they say it's on Android 2.2, it's still ANDROID 1.6, here's what to expect from the Fake APAD (FLYTOUCH):

THE GOOD: You can Browse internet / facebook (NO Video, NO FLASH GAMES) / chat / email
THE BAD: Its Slow (CANNOT play AngryBirds and most Android Games), CANNOT play Flash

now that you know what to expect from the device,
learn how to Identify the fake ones (DIRTY Version aka Flytouch) by reading below...

UPDATE as of December 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Guys, sorry I already stopped maintaining this Blog..
maganda na performance nowadays ng IPAD Clones..

I bought an aPad from John's GADGETS, Highly recommended!
webstore: http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/3104619/APAD+ANDROID+2.3+LATEST+7inches+with+FREEBIES%40EVER+GOTESCO+ORTIGAS?featureType=1

See my VIDEO REVIEW below of his aPAD! (original Plants vs Zombies 100% working)

He will reply to all of your inquiries, even inquiries via txt msg! Each and every single TXT MSG ko may REPLY sila! He can also do MEET-UPs "for free"! walang additional fee of 100-200 at kung ano ano pang $#iT para lang mag meet up! :D BEAT THAT!

He also has a STORE in EVER GOTESCO MALL ORTIGAS, so you're free to drop by their store to test their units (test all you wan't, you're not required to buy). For more details you may contact him at http://john999999.sulit.com.ph/

Surely the best aPAD seller out there as of DECEMBER 2011!

Theres also aPAD dealer Kynda_Presenta!
TipidPC = http://www.tipidpc.com/ratings.php?username=kynda_presenta
Sulit.com.ph = http://kyndapresenta.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+feedbacks/id/905579/kyndapresenta

they have their own store in CENTRIS MALL EDSA Quezon Ave (near Tapa King)
so if you want to "test" the units before actually buying, you can go to their store.

They are also very accommodating.. but still I suggest you visit their store, its just along EDSA anyway.. their aPads also come with 1 month replacement + 1 year service warranty ;)

Good luck with your aPads! and merry Christmas!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since its the season of giving, I was planning on getting a gadget for my granny so she could learn about the internet and communicate with our relatives online...

I was planning on getting her a pre owned net book, but instead found out that the iPad clone's price has dropped down to 3,000 pesos.

Oh btw, yeah a "pre-owned" one, all my gadgets from phone to cams are all 2nd hand, been with me for years now and none has died on me yet. Why buy new ones when you can get them for half to a 3rd of its original "Mall price" and of course without sacrificing its quality. You just have to be picky and thorough in checking if the unit is still in tip top shape! ;) I frequent TipidPC/TipidCP and Sulit.ph (these are Philippine based sites).
Okay, enough of the delays and on with our Topic, in search of a gadget, I bumped in to the iPad clone, the aPAD (aka iRobot)...

I was surprised that it costs just around 3,000-3,500 pesos nowadays. And for a gadget that can let you go online via Wifi (FB,Youtube,Google,Email... etc) and download tons of Applications/Games that can be acquired via Android Market (yes it runs on Google's Android Operating System), 3,000 pesos is already a very reasonable price! Not to mention its a Tablet with a 7inch touch screen!

Perfect for granny, no more confusing buttons to memorize (she knows how to txt/sms but gets lost when she forgets which button on the phone does which task, so a netbook would probably confuse her more). Touch screens are the best for kids and old folks alike! Agree? lol..

Upon comparing the different sellers online claiming that they are selling legitimate aPADs, and throwing negative comments at each other saying "those are fake 2.2 OS, those cant download apps from Android Market, those are slow, ours are faster, better, latest version, mas pogi ako sayo, lolo mo wrestler, wala ka sa lolo ko, rants, etc" you'd really end up confused, and caught hanging, not knowing who to believe.

So HOW DO I KNOW if an APAD is Real or Fake? (funny really, since aPAD is already a fake/clone gadget to begin with, and they still managed to create a clone of a clone gadget)

Lets start with the Physical attributes...

The Original aPads have Rockchip processors inside them, they have 2 mini USB ports.
While the fake aPads (ePads aka Flytouch) doesn't have any, you will need an adapter
plugged in to the USB interface pictured below (2nd image below).

Fake APADs (Flytouch) also have speakers located at the bottom of the device, while the APAD's speakers are located either on both sides or on its back.

Since APAD has been the top choice of all the iPAD Clones, almost all manufacturers and sellers are now labeling their iPAD Clones as APAD, tricking people in to buying their product.

Here is a collection of pictures showing all the iPAD Clone models to date and see how an
original A-PAD looks like. CLICK HERE to VIEW IMAGES.

You may also check out the video below for a more up-close view of a Real A-Pad.

Now for the Specs comparison...

Fake aPad (E-Pad) runs only at 300 mhz, its only good for Internet, Facebook (but no Video and Flash Games) some even comes with a fake Plants vs Zombies installed to make you believe it's fast!

(FYI: 1st Gen Ipod touch runs a 620mhz processor so you can just imagine how slow these Fake aPad / Flytouch tablets are.)

While the Original aPad runs at 600-800mhz (at par with the latest ipod devices).

The ePAD/Flytouch is slow, but it can run Plants vs Zombies, fake nga lang! haha with only one level (watch video of Fake PvZ)

Here are more sample screenshots of ePADs claiming to be on Android 2.2 ...

What you should check for is the Kernel Version..
The Moment you see that "Dirty" you'll know its a "FAKE" aPAD. (DIRTY version)

bakit kaya Dirty.... hmm baka pre-installed with YouPorn? lol..
And below is a sample of a "REAL" aPAD, check the Kernel Version (should show ROCKCHIP)
proving that it has a Rockchip processor inside the unit.

More Helpful Notes:

Those APad/EPad devices that claim to be Android version 1.7 or 1.9 are Fake! Check wiki for Android history, OS version 1.7 and 1.9 doesn't exist.

If you're getting an aPad, get AT LEAST the one that is Rockchip RK2808-based. But RK2808 can only use Android 1.6 and RK2818 can accomodate Android OS 2.0 and above.

iRobot (same as the original A-PAD) dapat Rockchip RK2808 sa specs. kung VIA 8505, panget)

VIA chips are sloooowwww!!! (VIA chips = kernel with "Dirty")

Recommended Processors/Chips are Rockchip RK2808, Telechips TCC8902 and OMAP3 3530.

rockchips have android 1.5
telechips have newer os(2.1 & 2.2)

RECOMMENDED aPAD MODELS:

aPAD iROBOT (rockchip)
aPAD X5A (Telechip)

Helpful sites/forums:
http://www.slatedroid.com
http://www.tipidpc.com/viewtopic.php?tid=233228&page=63

Side Comment:
hintay lang tayo ng 1 year pa, hindi na tayo lahat gagamit cellphone.
May isang pamilya na ng gagambang naka tira sa Landline Unit namin.

VERDICT:

If you want GAMES for Android and FACEBOOK, sorry DONT BUY those 3k-4k worth aPADs (dirty version), they are NOT FOR YOU!

You will need at least 8,000 Pesos for a TABLET capable of playing FLASH.

If you just need a Tablet that can connect via WIFI and Surf the Internet, without the need for FLASH (ie: Flash games and Videos), this Gadget is a GOOD DEAL!

It can also edit WORD/EXCEL documents, and do Multimedia Entertainment (Play Video Clips with 500x500 pixels below resolution, MP3, Pictures)

Memory is expandable up to 32 GB, via MicroSD. Internal memory 2 GB.

Thanks for munching by!

Jollibee's DOUBLE DOWN!

2010-12-04T14:33:00.005+08:00

Presenting JOLLIBEE's take on the DOUBLE DOWN!

The CHAMPION MEAL!
Two Thick Chicken Joy Fillets and a 1/3 pound Champ beef patty
with Cheese Lettuce and Tomato!

Okay now that you're all drooling for this mouth watering treat, here's the BIG let down...
the image above is a Hoax, Jollibee has announced in their official Twitter account that
the promotion above is not real and was just made by someone who's good at Photoshop.

Thanks for munching by foodies!

Aling Dionisia says FOR THE WIN PACMAN!

2010-11-14T20:51:00.003+08:00

Aling Dionisia Says FOR THE WIN!

CONGRATULATIONS MANNY "PACMAN" PACQUIAO!

Thanks for munching by!

What is your profession? Ga'hoole! Ga'hoole! Ga'hoole!

2010-09-26T03:03:00.009+08:00

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS - THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE

okay, you need to watch this movie in 3D! why? because I said so, ok that's me being arrogant.. or maybe I'm just too lazy to explain.. ok you win. Well... you do the math..

#1 its a 3D film, everything is CGI (computer generated)

#2 tons of Flight Scenes (don't tell me you expect the owls to swim or walk all throughout the movie) aerial scenes are where the effects of the 3D glasses usually excels.

#3 the movie was written and shot with 3D in mind (for this one you'd have to google around if the producers had 3D in mind when creating the film and really did use 3D technology in making it.) It's not really hard to search about this one.

in short, the "Effort" was given in order to make this movie worth watching in "3D".

Next question: WHERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE in 3D?

> Greenhills Promenade (in San Juan) = P320 (with cheese popcorn + iced tea)
> Gateway (next to Araneta Coliseum) = P270 (with popcorn and drinks)
> Ayala Malls (Trinoma, Greenbelt, Glorietta etc.) = P300
> SM Malls (SM North, South, East, West, yeah they're everywhere) = P200
> IMAX (SM Mall of Asia / SM North Edsa) = P400-500
> Eastwood Mall (Eastwood Libis) = P300-400 (with unlimited pop-corn I think)

For the Quality...

> Dolby Digital 3D = Ayala Malls/Greenhills/Eastwood (better 3D quality compared to SM)
> Gateway = haven't tried yet, sorry not sure if they're also using Dolby Digital 3D
> SM Malls = there's a reason why its only P200. That should be enough explanation.
> SM IMAX = again there's a reason why it costs P400-500. (IMAX - best 3D quality to date)

okay after all the stuff above, is the movie good? Of course! When did I watch something that's considered not good?! I paid for the movie so no matter how horrible it was, I should convince myself that IT is GOOD! but thank God there's no need to do that. I enjoyed the film!

Story wise, it's your usual kiddie story where this dreamer dude becomes a hero in the end, but what you're after here are the great visual effects. The environment of Lord of the Rings, the Spartan-Like Soldier Owls, it's like Watching Lord of the Rings and 300 but with Owls instead of real people! ;) now if you dig that kind of idea, then this movie is for you!

art by Alodia Gosiengfiao

and to wrap up everything, here's a Video of Cookie monster being interviewed at a New York radio station...

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (Bio Hazard 4)

2010-09-14T12:19:00.007+08:00

Since we've already watched DESPICABLE ME (A MUST WATCH movie for Comedy Fans, this one makes it to my top movies for 2010) last week, there was nothing else worth watching I guess than my old time favorite Zombie Fest movie Resident Evil.. (glad Mich was game to watch it with me :D)

Resident Evil 4: Afterlife (2010) - It pays to listen to the fans and probably bringing back the original director.

Resident Evil 4 lands on the Top 1 spot in US Box Office Charts this week at $27.7 million, a great move since no other movie was opening last week.

Director Paul W. S. Anderson returns in directing the Resident Evil franchise after leaving it for a few years and letting Resident Evil 2 and 3 go down the drain with some other director who'm I wont be wasting time anymore to search up.

The Good: It was a big mistake in the part 3 to give Alice (Milla Jovovich) some kind of super natural powers that the Protagonists in the games didn't have. And it's a big relief that they made a move to correct this. Probably among all 4 movies, this and the first one are my favorite, and I'm guessing Paul Anderson is one of the reasons.

You get the usual zombies, the regular ones running slow, easy to kill, with new batches of underground diggers which could run and a new boss-like zombie which you can relate to those found in the game.

There's also an additional Protagonist which most game fans would recognize and would enjoy seeing.

Cool effects, plenty of slow motion scenes, who am I kidding, I think 1/4 of the movie was in Slow-mo! lol..

The Bad: If you're not a fan of the previous movies and most of all The Game, then don't you dare watch this movie and say bad things about it because I'm already warning you now that you'll still be disappointed just like how you felt in the previous films.

For some reason, Milla Jovovich gets to maintain her make up and lipstick from the beginning up to the end of the movie. I guess it's a must or probably something she needs to distract zombies and enable her to kill them easier.

Overall: So far the highest rating Resident Evil movie, scoring 7/10 in IMDB.com, I enjoyed this Movie, but dont expect anything new, this one's just enough to give you your zombie killing spree fix (with a ton of Slow Motion scenes). Hopefully the 5th movie will still be directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. I can say the only movie that I really hated was the 4th Movie (Extinction), hated how Alice was given these super natural powers. Bah~

Cast:

Milla Jovovich ... Alice

Ali Larter ... Claire Redfield

Kim Coates ... Bennett

Shawn Roberts ... Albert Wesker

Sergio Peris-Mencheta ... Angel Ortiz

Spencer Locke ... K-Mart

Boris Kodjoe ... Luther West

Wentworth Miller ... Chris Redfield

Paul Anderson is also producing Castlevania movie based from the Game Castlevania and is scheduled for release in 2011. Seems he likes to make movies based from well known video games. He's also directing The Three Musketeers also for release in 2011 and will star Milla Jovovich. Seems he's also attached to Milla Jovovich. lol

Resident Evil 4 movie, comes out in Japan as Bio Hazard 4, just like how the games are titled. And a Resident Evil game will be released by Capcom for the PSP this year! And no it wont be based on the movie, so that's something to be thankful for.

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Double B-Day Celeb Part 2 - Bistro Ravioli

2010-09-13T01:27:00.033+08:00

After our Fish Spa adventure in Manila Ocean Park, we went to the nearest mall, SM Mall of Asia to buy gifts for each other (Mich got me a pair of shoes from Aldo and the Saturday after that, I got her a blouse from Zara in Trinoma, we weren't able to find a gift for her in MoA). After the gift hunting, off we went to have Dinner! :D

Since MoA's too far from our place (QC) we seldom get the chance to try the restaurants here, so we had to go to a resto that can only be found in Mall of Asia.

And so we ended up in Bistro Ravioli! Mich and her college friends had dinner here once so she already knows the place. The waiter told us they have another branch but it doesn't serve pasta and their new dishes.

Bistro Ravioli's Menu (click image to view in full size)

and their 4 new dishes! (I'm guessing your eyes are locked on to Diablo Wings)

So here's what we ordered...

Italian Sausage Ravioli in Romesco (who the hell is Romesco?) Sauce (Price: 190 pesos)

What's the use of going to Bistro Ravioli if you wont try their specialty (Ravioli duh) right? Cream Cheese topping, yummy Italian sausage filling! Wasn't able to concentrate on the Romesco Sauce but I think it tasted similar to Spaghetti... sorry I was too excited to try the Diablo Chicken Wings :D hot hot hot! Oh by the way, there were around 6-7 pieces of Ravioli in this dish.

Next stop.. Diablo Wings! (Price: 200+ pesos) estimated price, it wasn't on the main Menu since it was still new, so we had to ask the waiter about it and 'luckily' for you guys, I forgot it's exact price... yes I should change my URL to "theforgetfulblogger.com"

5 to 6 pieces of yummy, hot and spicy Chicken Wings! They're Big! so it's really worth the price, most of all if you're in to spicy food!

See how big that is!? (syempre kasi naka zoom-in) Mouth watering :D~ there was also this strong taste of Barbeque aside from the spicy flavor. It comes with an Onion/Mayo dip, similar to the onion sauce used for shawarma, only thicker and with onion bits.

3rd dish, Shrimp & Basil Pesto Pizza! (Price: 300 pesos) around 8 slices.

I wanted something filling, just in case the Wings and Ravioli wont be enough (I woke up late and skipped Brunch so I was really hungry =( and we weren't also sure with their serving size).

as seen in the picture, there's a generous amount of toppings, especially the shrimp! In your face you cheap fast food pizza chains! Promising huge amount of toppings which are only true in Pictures! lol (okay, glad I finally got that out).

And yes! They use a brick oven! Brick-Oven Baked Pizza! Yummy! Tastes just like Bricks! no of course I'm only kidding... I don't really know how a brick-oven baked pizza differs from those cooked in conventional baking ovens, for me it depends more on the ingredients they use and I have no complaints with Bistro Ravioli's Pizza.

thin crust! Just the way most of us likes it! More on the flavor and toppings, and less on the useless calories from thick & oily crust pizzas.

We were already full and there were still 4 slices of pizza and 2 chicken wings left so I'm estimating that our meal is good for 3 pesons.

Total Budget: PhP 750-800 (Good for 3 persons)
Price per Head: PhP 250-300

Fruit shake costs PhP80/glass so we don't recommend it, we usually just ask for water unless there's a special drink that only that resto has to offer.

Italian = Love!

Thanks for munching by foodies!

Transformers 3 filming put ON HOLD due to accident in the Set

2010-09-03T06:47:00.005+08:00

A woman (24 year old, Extra Gabriela Cedillo) participating in a car stunt suffered a serious head injury during a 'Transformers 3' shoot in northwest Indiana one day before filming was supposed to conclude in the Chicago area.

She was injured on the set Wednesday night along a stretch of Cline Avenue, which was closed to traffic for filming, in East Chicago.

A stunt shoot was being filmed when Cedillo, who is not a stuntman, was hurt. She was inside a car which was being towed by another vehicle, said fellow extra Blaine Baker in an interview.

"The cable between the two vehicles broke. It whipped around, smashed through the car's windshield and sliced through her skull, apparently" explained by Blaine Baker.

Please see the complete news feed below from ABC-7 News.

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Pirate vs Legit Copy (which is better?)

2010-09-01T03:20:00.007+08:00

Warning: The Diagram which you're about to see might affect your outlook in life PERMANENTLY... if you have a collection of Original DVDs please close this window now and avoid realizing the sad truth. Thank you.

Ain't it true?

Thanks for munching by!

BAD NEWS for PSP GO owners, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep only on UMD

2010-08-30T03:25:00.002+08:00

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep will not be released on the PSP GO!

As confirmed from Kotaku.com, and Square Enix themselves. The game Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep will only be released on UMD. And will not be available in Playstation network where PSP GO owners can only get their games from.

Oh well, more reason to hate the PSP go, more reason to love my PSP 1000 haha..

Thanks for munching by!

Mayhem in Manila - Tourist Bus Hostage Taking

2010-08-26T06:54:00.004+08:00

Don't go blaming our Asian Neighbors for hating us, after the bloody ending of the Tourist Bus Hostage taking in Manila (Quirino Grandstand) last monday, August 23, 2010, we still find it amusing to do this at the crime scene...

Caption: Check it out girls, we're way cooler! Mas malapit kmi sa bus.

Let's just hope (for your sake) that the souls of the recently departed didn't follow you home.

Thanks for munching by!

Miss Universe 2010 Results! Ms. Philippines lands at top 5!

2010-08-24T12:10:00.007+08:00

After taking the crown 9 years ago in the 1991 Ms. Universe Pageant, Mexico once again grabs the crown for the 2010 Miss Universe! Ms. Mexico, Jimena (Ximena) Navarrete Rosete was crowned Miss Universe today at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

Coming next after Mexico is Miss Jamaica and Australia, with Philippines grabbing the 5th place for Miss Universe 2010.

1st Runner-up

* Jamaica - Yendi Phillipps

2nd Runner-up

* Australia - Jesinta Campbell

3rd Runner-up

* Ukraine - Anna Poslavska

4th Runner-up

* Philippines - Venus Raj

Final Competition Scores:

Country	Swimsuit	Evening Gown
Mexico	9.265 (2)	8.913 (1)
Jamaica	9.426 (1)	8.884 (2)
Australia	8.543 (5)	8.841 (3)
Ukraine	8.333 (7)	8.743 (4)
Philippines	8.957 (3)	8.714 (5)
Albania	8.229 (T8)	8.693 (6)
Ireland	8.784 (4)	8.500 (7)
South Africa	8.229 (T8)	8.420 (8)
Guatemala	8.071 (10)	8.286 (9)
Puerto Rico	8.443 (6)	7.971 (10)

source - wikipedia.org

Special Awards goes to the following:
Miss Congeniality: Australia - Jesinta Campbell
Miss Photogenic: Thailand - Fonthip Watcharatrakul
Best National Costume: Thailand - Fonthip Watcharatrakul

Thanks for munching by!

Buy 1 take 1 at YOSHINOYA!

2010-08-04T06:01:00.006+08:00

Hey guys! You're in for a Treat! Yoshinoya's giving away Free Yakiniku meals! read about it below..

Promo Instructions:

1. Print the Coupon above
2. Present the coupon at any Yoshinoya Branch
3. Order a bowl of Yakiniku and get a second bowl for Free!

Valid at the following Yoshinoya Branches:
SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, SM Mall of Asia, Park Square 1 (beside Glorietta), GreenHills, Sta Lucia & Robinsons Galleria

Promo Period: August 1 to September 30, 2010

Special thanks to Manila-Life for sharing this Yoshinoya Treat!

Thanks for munching by foodies!

Free Eclipse movie Tickets! from Ayala Cinema

2010-06-24T05:23:00.008+08:00

To all Ayala-Card Holders! Enjoy TWO free Movie tickets (per Card) to watch the Movie Eclipse next Friday (July 2, 2010) in ANY AYALA MALL.

Just call the numbers indicated in the AD below and have your movie tickets reserved in the Ayala Mall of your Choice! (Trinoma, Glorietta 4, Market Market!, Greenbelt and Alabang Town Center)

Please click on the Image below for the full details...

Hooraaay for the A-Card! ;)

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Plants vs Zombies 3D!

2010-06-11T03:26:00.004+08:00

Sunflowers, Wallnuts, and rePEAters... your lawn is 100% safe with these guys around.. ;)

Thanks for munching by!

Jackie Chan & Jaden Smith puts the original Karate Kid to shame!

2010-06-06T03:02:00.007+08:00

This Movie throws away all the bad things in the 1984 original and exceeds in all areas where the original film failed to become!

Definitely how The classic Karate Kid should have been 26 years ago!

There couldn't have been any better Martial Arts teacher than Jackie Chan!
(Jet Li? nah it wont be as fun compared to watching Jackie)

Now if the lines above doesn't convince you yet to watch this movie, then read on for the full review...

But before that, here are some quick facts, KARATE originated in Japan which is their Martial Art system of unarmed combat. In this movie however, the setting is in China and The Karate Kid is taught KUNG FU, not Karate. Okay, I've kept you waiting long enough, on with the juicy stuff...

Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) plays the role of Dre Parker a kid who was raised in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move landed him in China. In the land where the art of Kung Fu is a norm, Dre gets floored by the class bully. With no friends in a strange land, Dre finds himself cared for by their local maintenance man Mr. Han (played by Jackie Chan). As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

THE GOOD:
The best ever Karate Kid film to date, hey it may be Kung Fu but who cares? I guess it pays homage to the original film and aims to revive its legacy after the succeeding failures with the movies KarateKid II, III and The Next Karate Kid. The fight scenes are simply awesome, if you're a fan of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, then this movie won't disappoint! Teaches great values and will be an inspirational treat for Kids! Acting is just superb, Jackie Chan play's the Kung Fu Master role very well and remains to catch everyone's heart.

THE BAD:
Like in most Good vs Evil films, I just really find it hard to believe a Hero gets trained for a few weeks time and then beats up the baddies who've been training all their life, in this case training kung fu since childhood. This has been the usual recipe and has been used by many movies for countless of times. But then again, what's good about this movie is they didn't really mention how long The Karate Kid was trained and well, maybe there's just something special with Mr.Han (Jackie Chan) that makes his training good enough to make a hero of a kid overnight. But if you really compare this Karate Kid to the original film, this one really gives you at least enough reasons to believe that 'yeah, I guess it's possible for him to have won the tournament'. Since the setting is in China, you may encounter some difficulty understanding some of the lines by some of the cast, especially Jackie Chan.

The Karate Kid opens on June 11, 2010 (Friday) in all Cinemas Nationwide.

Movie Runtime: 2 hours

Main Cast:

Jaden Smith	...	Dre Parker
Jackie Chan	...	Mr. Han
Taraji P. Henson	...	Sherry Parker

Special thanks to Ms Sharon and SM Megamall Cinema for the Movie Invites!

Please visit www.smcinema.com for the latest Screening Schedules and Movie Reservations.

Upcoming Movies to watch out for...

Next Attraction: [] The A-Team [] Toy Story 3 [] Grown Ups
Coming Soon (Next Month): [] The Twilight Saga: Eclipse [] The Last Airbender

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Toy Story 3 IMAX Advance Selling Promo!

2010-06-05T11:14:00.015+08:00

TOY STORY 3 ADVANCE SELLING PROMO!

PROMO PERIOD:
May 28-June 16, 2010

BRANCHES:
IMAX Theater Mall of Asia and IMAX Theater North EDSA

MECHANICS:
For every purchase of two (2) tickets to the movie at IMAX Theatre Mall of Asia or IMAX Theatre North EDSA from May 28-June 16, 2010, moviegoer gets one (1) FREE Toy Story 3 Trading Card set.

Collect all Limited Edition Cards! ;)

Visit www.SMcinema.com for Movies showtimes and reservations!

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Christine Reyes' Live Show! (webcam page)

2010-06-03T02:07:00.009+08:00

Press "CTRL+D" to bookmark Christine's WebCam Page!

Thanks for munching by!

iPad too pricey? get an iPed / aPad!

2010-06-01T23:09:00.009+08:00

Lo and behold! The 2nd (unofficial) version of the iPad is here! hahaha

Go ahead, take a good look at it...

Look closer...

its an iPed! yes, China has once again provided us with a cheaper alternative haha, but just like China Phones, is it really worth the cash?

iPed also widely spread in china as the A-Pad (as seen on the user's Manual)

hmmm Nice list of Apps, nope it can't run Apple Apps (yet? lol baka possible in the future?) haha but did I mention? .. it's running on an INTEL Microchip and the open source Operating System Android!

Check out the browsing experience, Google browser...

Google Earth? they say it also has GPS..

Full Specs of the Device:

Hardware:
Dimensions (H X W X D): 190.5 x 118.5 x14.7;
Weight: 332g;
CPU Processor Speed: 600 MHz/500 MHz DSP;
Memory /ROM: 2GB - 16GB;
Memory /RAM: 128MB+
Memory Slot: T-flash
Camera: 30W - 13OW Pixels digital camera
Color Display: 7" TFT LCD with Resistance Touch Screen
Resolution: 800 x 480 Pixles;
Battery Capacity: 3000mAh;
USB: YES (Mini USB 2.0);
Speaker: YES
G Sensor: YES
I/O ports: Mini USB 2.0, T-FLASH, 3.5mm Headphone, Build-in Microphone;
Wirleless Interface: WIFI 802.11b/g;
-----------------------------------------
Software:
Operating System: Android 1.5 version;
Browser: Google Browser;
Video: MKV(H.264 HP), AVI, RMVB, FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2;
Music: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC, AC3, WAV;
Photo: JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF;
Email: Gmail
GPS: Google map

The iPed aka A-Pad sells for $105 (woah roughly around 5,000 pesos lang!) compared to the iPad which costs $500+ . I wonder when will this thing hit Philippine shores! lol

Source: Kotaku.com

Thanks for munching by!

Hayley Williams of Paramore, posts top-less photo of herself!?

2010-05-29T09:03:00.006+08:00

Hayley Williams, the lead vocalist of the Emo-Rock Band Paramore (which brought us the hit singles of the Twilight Saga Movies) had posted a top-less photo of herself via Twitter's TwitPic.

With more than 600,000 followers on her official Twitter page, her top-less photo just took a few minutes before it was spread all over the world wide web.

Shortly after the said incident, Hayley Williams posted on her twitter account;“Well … my night just changed drastically. Got hacked.”

Hayley claims she was a victim of a cyber-attack and her twitter account got hacked. Rumor has it that her phone was lost and the said photo was posted from her phone directly to Twitter, some also say she accidentally did it herself, and some say she did it intentionally.

Can't really agree with the latter, why would she do such a thing when she's at the peak of her career.

Thanks for munching by foodies!

Google-PAC! (30 Years of Pac Man!)

2010-05-22T14:41:00.002+08:00

When I was still a kid (back when Pac-Man was already a hit) and computers were still running on DOS operating system. I never really took the time of finishing a round of Pac-Man, I'm too lazy to finish off munching all the power pellets in the screen. But thanks to Google, I finally got the chance to finish PAC-MAN! and not just any regular one, a special 30th anniversary Google Edition!

Google Celebrates 30th year of Pac-Man by not just making a Google Doodle of the Game but making one that's actually Play-able! Visit http://www.google.com/ now to play the game!

Happy Birthday Pac-Man!

Thanks for dropping by!

Shrek's Finale (Shrek Forever After)

2010-05-20T10:44:00.009+08:00

Yesterday, we got invited (and to our surprise, so was Kris Aquino lol) to the opening of the new 3D Cinema of Eastwood Cyber One Mall in Libis, Quezon City, with the Premier showing of Shrek's fourth and final movie, Shrek Forever After. The 3D Glasses they're using is similar to the Dolby 3D glasses being used in Ayala Malls.

But the Cinema itself is a whole different story, seats are laid out great and one thing you'd find new are the type of seats they have, the whole seat can move and slant up to around 30 degress backward (so that's the reason why the seat seems to be too elevated from the one in front of it) so that you'd still have a great view of the Movie Screen even if you have the seats slanted all the way back. Now on to the juicy movie stuff... (p.s. Their Pop Corn's great too! 55pesos for a tumbler and 85 for a bucket, I recommend the sour cream flavor ;) )

So Whaddup with the Movie?
Well Shrek misses being a big bad and scary ogre, so he decides to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin (voiced by Walt Dohrn), to make him a bad-ass ogre again even just for a single day. By doing this, Rumpel ends up being the king of Far Far Away land and Shrek gets erased from everyone's memory, now how all of these happened is for you to find out ;) but just the idea of Donkey not knowing who Shrek (as shown in the official trailer) is already a must see, I really can't imagine this movie without Eddie Murphy as Donkey!

The Good:
A great twist has been introduced, packs a ton of Laughs (as always from Donkey). I do recommend watching it in 3D (no need for IMAX, digital 3D will do). Enjoy new characters (as the main Antagonist) and another adversary (a very interesting and funny one at that!) sent to capture Shrek. If you're a fan of Shrek and/or needs a good comedy fix, this movie's highly recommended!

The Bad:
I couldn't think of any bad things about the movie, other than it being too short (an estimate of one and a half hour), it was kinda sad to know that this will be the last time we'll see Shrek in the big screen, but then again, it's already starting to lose its touch, but at least managed to end the series great with part 4. The first two movies were awesome, and even if this 4th installment wasn't able to out-do the first 2 movies, it was a big improvement from Shrek the Third (3rd movie).

Main Cast:
Mike Myers ... Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy ... Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz ... Princess Fiona (voice)
Antonio Banderas... Puss in Boots (voice)

Overall rating:
Being the finale of the Shrek Series and being a big improvement from Shrek 3, this movie's worth watching and seeing in Digital 3D (no need for IMAX). The whole movie is in 3D.

Shrek 4: Forever After opens in the Philippines today (May 20, 2010)
Special thanks to Eastwood Cinema for the invites!

Thanks for viewing cinephiles!

Final Fantasy 8 for the iPhone/iPod Touch? (Chaos Rings)

2010-04-23T03:28:00.003+08:00

Final Fantasy 8 for the Ipod Touch is here!!! Nope just kidding, but these Graphics are not! Now tell me, doesn't this image remind you of Final Fantasy VIII?

Square Enix has released another Masterpiece RPG, and now its for the iPhone/iPod Touch! Released just this April 20, 2010, it definitely won't take long for this game to reach the TOP 1 spot in gamespot.com! RPG fans, the long wait is finally over...

CHAOS RINGS takes full advantage of the iPhone and iPod touch’s capabilities. Using a classic game system that any RPG fan will enjoy, it presents an epic tale consisting of four different scenarios, all brought to you with gorgeous sound and unbelievably smooth 3D graphics. A pure Final Fantasy VIII nostalgia if you ask me. haha

The story revolves around a tournament where combatants fight for their lives: the Ark Arena. Upon choosing a pair of characters, one male and one female, you will then have to fight against the other pairs. Each pair has their own story, and the truth behind the Ark Arena will not be revealed until each story is completed.

Game Details:
-Amazingly smooth 3D graphics
-Size 253 MB
-Gorgeous sound that takes full advantage of the iPhone and iPod touch’s powerful hardware
-A deep story with unique twists for every pair and multiple endings
-Traditional game and battle systems polished to perfection
-Hours upon hours of gameplay, complete with hidden bosses, secret weapons, and more
-Priced at $15.99 on iTunes

Thanks for the visit Techies!